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Citrus Bowl History
The Citrus Bowl in Orlando is one of college football's signature events, a burst of Florida sunshine on New Year's Day. The game, traditionally played on January 1, usually pits an SEC team against a representative from the Big Ten.
The event was born in 1947 as the Tangerine Bowl, with the Catawba Indians beating the Maryville Scots, 31-6. The initial sponsors were members of a local Elks Lodge who each put up $100 to cover expenses. Proceeds went to the Harry Anna Children's Hospital, which is why the bowl would come to be known as the "Little Bowl with the Big Heart." The stadium, built in 1936 under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration, accommodated just 8,900 fans.
Today the stadium — now called Camping World Stadium — is a fully modern, 65,000-capacity facility, and the Citrus Bowl is a centerpiece of the bowl season. While it lacks the pageantry of the Rose Bowl on the other side of the country, the game is rich with the sport's history, both bad and good. The unbeaten 1955 Hillsdale College football team refused an invitation to the bowl after officials said the school's four black players would not be allowed to play. Likewise, University of Buffalo players in 1958 elected to skip the game because its two black players would have been kept off the field. But by 1966, the color line had been lifted, and Morgan State became the first historically black college to play in the bowl. The Bears went on to beat the West Chester Golden Rams, 14-6.
Other memorable games include the 1996 Citrus Bowl, in which fourth-ranked Tennessee beat fourth-ranked Ohio State, 20-14, and the 1969 edition, in which Toledo hung 56 points on Davidson, a bowl record that stands today.
My wife and I had a great time at the Cheez-It Bowl. Our seats wear prefect. Great food. Clean bathrooms. The best was the service people at the stadium. My wife has mobility issues and they helped her from the parking lot to our seats and back after the game. They were very friendly and helpful!
I had no problems until I was required to write 50 words when perfect was the correct answer. No problems, none, none, none, none, none, none, none, none, none, none, none, none. I had no problems. Everything was perfect except the refs sucked and Illinois got away with some shady coaching moves.
Attending the Citrus bowl was a fun experience regardless of the victor. The seats were great, the pregame experience was entertaining, the staff were extraordinarily in their assistance….it was overall a great experience. The halftime wedding was unfortunately totally out of sorts with a highly spirited and competitive football game.
The only issue was the parking lot where I bought my pass was closed.
We had great seats! Food a little pricey but like the options.
I thought the sound system needs upgrading. Score board information needs a bigger uograde
We had a great time. We took the shuttle from/to the Hyatt Regency and took part in the Alumni party. Bus parking was very easy to find and accessible. The party was a blast! Everything was really enjoyable...except for the rain during the Illini Walk (I know you can't help that or can you?). At least it was sunny, so we weren't wet for long.
So much more lit than a regular NFL game. College football I'd always a blast
I was shocked Tennessee was only allotted 4,000 tickets and of that number, 2,500 were allocated to the University and the email from the Athletic Ticket Office said we should purchase directly from the Citrus Bowl through Ticketmaster. I am very happy with the tickets we had as well as the parking. Tennessee historically travels very well to bowl games and normally sells all of their allotment of 10,000-15,000 tickets. If I am not able to purchase tickets to a game, I will definitely purchase from Ticketmaster.
Easy in and out Stadium staff real helpful. Could have done with a whole lot less of the host guy.
This was my 3rd bowl game this year I love the fan fest and the game and all the activities that went along with that day
Had and excellent time at the Citrus Bowl cheering on my Volunteers . Ticketmaster made it easy buying my tickets and entering the event. Also a very secure way to get tickets for any event.
The Citrus Bowl & Cheez-it out on a great day of football and fun (despite Iowa getting pummeled). It was a beautiful Florida day with lots of fan fun to be had. Band performances were great. Cheer squad for the bowl was super. Chedd Z the Cheez-it mascot was hilarious. I don’t think having Gavin McGraw perform 2 songs really added much. Field and stadium looked great. Concessions offered interesting choices. 👍👍
First the good: Beautiful weather on this January 1st bowl game. Vols won easily. The pregame fan celebration outside the stadium was fun. I especially enjoyed the live and loud music and the field goal kicking contest (next time make it a real football field goal kicking with opportunity to kick a 20-40 yard FG with real goal posts in addition to the blow up field goal for little kids.). The bad: price for citrus bowl parking was insanely high($150)!! Parking directly across the street was only $30. I will never buy the citrus bowl add-on parking again. Also, it was very difficult to access toll road 408 after the game with police blocking off all nearby access ramps. The concession hamburger was average at best. For $14 i expected a half pound pure beef hamburger, not the skimpy processed meat hamburger i received. Otherwise, the chair back seating was comfortable and the staff were helpful.
the entire experience was great! Watching the Vols win made everything worth while!!! Go Vols
The venue was really good Stadium good people around it support people police everyone around stadium was really good transportation in Orlando sucked getting around Orlando is horrible
The venue seating was more spacious than other stadiums. Seat views were excellent. Food/beverage kiosks and facilities were conveniently located for all seating. The security was organized and present.
The game didn't go our way, but the venue was nice, seats were comfortable, had a good view of the demise of my football team. The concessions were crazy expensive more than I expected.
I’ve been to other FL bowl games and the experience was on par with those. My seats, Sec 208 L 8-9, were a great view. My seats killed my back. The top section has these odd bleacher seats with no back. Both my 13yr old and myself were struggling by halftime. I’d recommend a seat in the P section with a worse view for a better viewing experience. The limited number of concession options was also disappointing. The Citrus Bowl and City’s coordination of bus shuttles was amazing. Never got out of a game lot so quickly.
This was the best and easies experience we’ve had. From the ease of entry to the nice stadium seats. We loved it. Plus we won. I was excited because they had dipping dots right by the seats. Yay.